Pamlico County nears balanced budget for 2013-14 with no tax increase

Charlie Hall, Sun Journal Staff

Tuesday

May 21, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 21, 2013 at 4:35 PM

BAYBORO — Pamlico County commissioners have approved more than $1.7 million in cuts for balancing a $15.7 million budget for 2013-14. The budget plans no tax increase on the current rate of 62.5 cents per $100 of property valuation.

BAYBORO — Pamlico County commissioners have approved more than $1.7 million in cuts for balancing a $15.7 million budget for 2013-14. The budget plans no tax increase on the current rate of 62.5 cents per $100 of property valuation.

The board met in a special budget workshop Tuesday morning, a night after it received the final large piece in the budget puzzle — the Pamlico County Board of Education’s requests.

The board on Tuesday approved recommended cuts by County Manager Tim Buck, but left him with about $250,000 to $300,000 in spending requests to trim before he presents the final version at the June 3 meeting. A public hearing on the budget is June 17.

The commissioners included 3 percent increases in budgets for a number of outside agencies, including the public schools, Pamlico Community College, Pamlico Rescue Squad, county library and the Forestry Service.

It also included a 3 percent cost of living raise for 150 county employees, their first raise since 2009. Health insurance costs for county employees paid by the county increased 4 percent.

The board did approve a major item that will spread the costs of a long-requested new roof at the Johnson Building on the community college campus over the length of a loan. The roof cost is more than $500,000 and has been an item of request annually by the college. In earlier budget sessions, the board decided to pledge to put money toward a savings account or seek a loan. They decided on the loan, since that was the only avenue that would allow the college to apply for grant money to cover engineering costs.

The board gave the public schools $200,000 for capital projects, the same amount as the current year. The schools had requested $704,000 in building projects, including 23 items of which six were listed as a priority.

The priority list, according to the schools’ request, included “an emphasis on safety and security.” Those items ranged from buzz-in security systems at the county’s four schools; enclosing a walkway and front porch entrance at the middle school; repairing an overhanging ceiling at the high school auditorium for asbestos; paving the high school track; and repairing a parking lot.

The commissioners noted that they only allocate the school funding and are not allowed to micro-manage which projects the schools chose to fund.

Buck said afterward that since the commissioners had finalized all of the outside agencies’ budgets, his target for the remaining cuts would have to be within the county’s spending.

During Tuesday’s two-hour-plus session, the board cut its county department spending for capital and building projects to $150,000, a cut of $50,000.

The spending approved includes $100,000 in planned repairs to the aging courthouse, a patrol car for the sheriff’s department and funding toward a new county communications system. The new system lease-purchase is contingent on the county receiving about $200,000 in state E-911 funding.

The final deficit numbers of about $300,000 came down to a discussion of whether to follow the pattern of recent years and balance the budget with money from the county’s savings. In the two previous years, the board balanced the budget with about $250,000. It was noted that that money was never needed either year when revenues exceeded projections.

Several commissioners, including Carl Ollison, said using the fund balance, but not spending it, had been a successful plan.

However, none of the board members offered a motion to follow that route to balance the budget.

That brought up talk of a major revenue source which has fluctuated over the years — rental income from bed rentals at the county jail. The rentals are for federal inmates on contract, as well as spaces for inmates from overcrowded jails in other counties.

Two years ago, Buck said the income fell to $500,000, from a previous high of $1 million. The current year budget was adjusted to a lower figure, but the rentals rebounded and Buck said it should again reach $1 million before the fiscal year closes out June 30.

However, the trend seems to be swinging lower again, he said, with events such as former customer Lenoir County opening a new detention facility.

Buck adjusted the projected income this coming year to $700,000.

Charlie Hall can be reached at 252-635-5667 or Charlie.hall@newbernsj.com.

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